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In the last few decades the field of political communication is characterized by an increasing degree of pluralization and fluidity. The large-scale crisis of long-established political agents (e.g. traditional political parties, the European Union) has proceeded together with the rise of a wide array of new parties, NGOs and social movements. The media ecosystem, on the other hand, marked by the hybrid interplay of legacy and digital media, has become distinctively polycentric, multi-voiced and participative. Political identities and communities, finally, have become notably more fluid and inconstant, signaling major shifts in the terms and forms of political representation. The basic premise of our invitation to investigate the changing semiotic nature of contemporary politics is Pertti Ahonen’s assertion that “politics is always a communicative enterprise”, inherently embedded in narration, symbolism, representation and signification. Having in mind a comprehensive understanding of political agency (including national and supra-national entities, political parties and NGOs, social movements and activist organizations) and with a specific historical focus on the post-Cold War period, we invite contributions (case studies or theoretical articles) that address the semiotic labor involved in contemporary political communication by investigating verbal and/or non-verbal political discourse across all the different communication modes, media and practices. Specifically, contributions may concern one or more of the axes below:

political campaigns, debates and rhetoric

political symbols, logos, images, music/songs and narratives

political ritual, aesthetics and performativity

political leadership, charisma and style

political cartoons, comics, murals and graffiti

political identities and ideologies

Prospective authors should submit an abstract of 250-300 words by mail to the editor, Gregory Paschalidis (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ), including their affiliation and contact information. Acceptance of the abstract does not guarantee publication, given that all research articles will be subjected to the journal’s double peer review process.

Timeline: Deadline for abstracts: April 20, 2020 Notification of acceptance of the abstract: April 30, 2020 Deadline for submission of full papers: August 31, 2020 Reviewers’ report: October 19, 2020 Final revised papers due: November 30, 2020 Publication: Volume 6, Number 2 (December 2020)

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The Hellenic Semiotics Society focuses on the study and spread of Semiotics in Greece. The Hellenic Semiotics Society is a member of the International Association for Semiotic Studies (IASS-AIS, http://iass-ais.org) and participates in its processes with two national representatives of the IASS Executive Committee and one representative of the Balkan Association for Semiotic Studies.